


This Year, Christmas Will be Ours

by sprookjes



Series: Zoenne's Christmases [3]
Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Self-Indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28252167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sprookjes/pseuds/sprookjes
Summary: It’s Zoë and Senne’s first Christmas together—paraphrasing a great songwriter of our time: can I make it any more obvious?
Relationships: Zoë Loockx/Senne De Smet
Series: Zoenne's Christmases [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2069856
Comments: 1
Kudos: 29





	This Year, Christmas Will be Ours

_The monsters are all missing_  
_And the nightmares can't be found_  
_And in their place there seems to be_  
_Good feeling all around_

_Instead of screams, I swear_  
_I can hear music in the air_  
_The smell of cakes and pies_  
_Is absolutely everywhere_

_The sights, the sounds_  
_They're everywhere and all around_  
_I've never felt so good before_  
_This empty place inside of me is filling up_  
_I simply cannot get enough_

_"What's This?"_

_Song lyrics from The Nightmare Before Christmas’ Soundtrack_

**24 DECEMBER 2020**

**Donderdag, 17:07**

Senne opens the flatshare's front door with his key. He got it back in May, the key and its heart shaped keychain. Zoë had kept it and when she asked if he still wanted it, he had said yes in a heartbeat. That's how he usually gets in, using his key instead of ringing the doorbell. (Except for days he gets there without any previous warning.) Today, she knows he's coming and she hears he's arrived even though there's music playing in the living room.

“Hey, I’m in the kitchen!” Zoë is so giddy about this day that she almost messes up a gingerbread cookie decoration. _Almost_.

The amazing smell of fresh baked cookies flows through the room. Zoë is standing by the kitchen table, working on them with white icing. She looks back at Senne. “Want some help?” She asks, smiling. He's carrying a couple of bags and his backpack.

“No, I got it.” He says, taking some cans and bottles out of the bags and placing them at the kitchen counter.

“Did you find everything you needed?”

“Yeah.” He replies, getting closer to her and kissing the nape of her neck. She turns quickly, piping bag in hand. He raises his palms, thinking for a second that she’s about to spray sanitizer in them.

She laughs, frowning . “Ha-ha! Very cute.”

“What?”

“Baby, the sink is _right there._ Please go wash your hands and the stuff you just left on the counter.”

“I was going to do that.” He says, and he would too. “I just thought you—”

“Today you’re helping me with dinner _and_ you're also making the drinks. No one touches anything in this kitchen before washing their hands, you should know that by now.”

He nods, laughing. “I know.”

“ _Thank you_!” She says, in a sing-song voice. There's silence for a few seconds, until Zoë continues. “When you’re done, can you come back here so I can kiss you? That’s what I was planning to do when I turned.”

He smirks. “Anything for you.”

“How is it out there, I mean, apart from rainy and cold?” 

“Believe me, you don’t wanna know.” He answers while washing his hands.

“Okay, I’m almost done decorating these and I need your honest opinion.” She tells him when she sees he's done washing the bottles.

He gets to the table. There are cookies in different shapes (Christmas trees, snowmen, stars) and sizes and they're all delicately decorated, the white icing turned into drawings over them now.

“They look like a work of art.”

She squints at him.

“I'm serious. Can I taste them?”

She rolls her eyes. “ _Duh_ , of course you can, it’s just for us anyway. The girls already had theirs on Monday when I was testing the recipe. I think they really liked it. Well, Luca actually loved it, she said she could easily devour another batch if I wanted to _test_ some more.” Zoë laughs. “Wish I could have sent some to Jana as well.” She sighs, her smile slowly fading.

“Has she gotten her present already? I bet she’s gonna love it, not as much as she would love your cookies, obviously, but...”

“She did, it arrived yesterday—but she won’t open it until tomorrow. I told her she could and she said she would be patient, not realizing that _I'm_ the one that couldn't wait to see her reaction.” She's smiling again once she's finished telling him about Jana's present and he feels glad to have asked about it.

“These are gingerbread?!” He sniffs and bites his first cookie of the night.

“Yes.”

“These are _so_ fucking good, you’re a wizard.”

She makes a face, still unable to fully accept compliments even though she's been trying to work on that. “The chocolate ones will be our dessert, don’t worry.” She says, as if reading his mind, gazing softly at him. She often does that, guesses what he's been thinking. And yet, he's always surprised by it. He grins.

“You mentioned something about a kiss earlier and, you know, hands have been washed for a while now.” He raises them again, as if to prove his point. She nods, getting closer to him. He cups her face with his hands, and Zoë approves that his kiss tastes like her gingerbread cookies.

**17:41**

“Are you done with the punch?” Zoë asks, untying her apron.

“Do you mean _am I done with the best non alcoholic Christmas punch you'll ever have?_ ”

She grins. “Yeah, that's what I meant.”

“Almost. Just a few more orange and lemon slices to use as decoration, then I'll add mint leaves and cranberries. ”

“Awesome! It looks really inviting. I have to go change.”

“Change, why?”

She frowns. “What do you mean? Look at me, I’m a disaster. I actually need a shower.” 

“What are you talking about? You look great.”

“Senne, _please_.” She scoffs. “I was gonna ask if you could finish the salad for me? All you have to do is mix the vegetables with the dressing, can you do that?“

“I... guess.” He replies, sounding completely unsure.

Zoë laughs. “Come on, you can do it.”

“Yeah, I just don't wanna mess it up.”

“You won't, I trust you.” She says, grabbing his face and kissing his cheek.

“Wanna try it before you go? I also need your opinion.” Senne says, pointing to his punch.

She nods and Senne serves her a half filled glass. He looks attentively at her expression. “Hm.” She says. “Hm!” She repeats, now with more enthusiasm. “It tastes...” She pauses and he frowns, feeling anxious (even though he knows she's doing it on purpose). “It tastes... like the best non alcoholic Christmas punch I've ever had.”

“Really?” His face relaxes into a gentle smile.

“Really.” She confirms, smiling back at him.

**18:15**

Senne is sitting on the couch, concentrated on his phone's screen when Zoë reappears. He immediately feels her presence and looks up. And then he blinks.

Her red velvet dress makes his jaw drop. He can actually feel his heart skip a beat before it starts beating faster.

“Wow.” He says, standing up.

She blushes by the way he's looking at her. Zoë imagined it would cause a reaction on him, but this was much better than what she had predicted. 

“So?” She manages to say, shooting him a smile.

“I was looking forward to the Santa sweater, but... this isn't exactly disappointing. ” He replies, getting closer to her.

“ _Oh my God_ , how do you know about that?” She covers her face with her hands, laughing.

“I saw the pictures. In fact, I'm pretty sure I liked that picture on Instagram. Yeah, I definitely remember doing that.”

She can still feel his eyes on her and she knows her cheeks are getting redder.

“You're breathtaking, there's no other word I can use that will make you justice. I could try, though.” The mood has shifted, she knows by the tone of his voice that he's being serious now. He meant to say them looking into her eyes, but she couldn't hold his gaze. So, with his lips really close to her ear, so close that they were brushing her cheek, he began saying, slowly, softly: “Beautiful. Fantastic. Lovely. Mesmerizing. Irresistible... Sexy.” Zoë grins, his words sending chills down her spine. She thinks he's exaggerating and that in any other situation she would have laughed at him for sounding this sappy but the way he said it... she just can't help believing it. “Don’t get me wrong, you always look—” 

“Stop, _I get it_. I intended to look a bit more... Hm... Let's say I was expecting you to like it when I chose it, so... it’s good to see I wasn't mistaken.” She says, holding the collar of his button-down shirt while he finally touches her velvet skater dress, running his hand along her back and stopping on her hip.

She suddenly looks up, he follows her eyes and notices for the first time that there's a mistletoe hanged on that door. 

Zoë sighs and rolls her eyes. “Tradition, what can we do?” The both of them smile as if it had happened by chance; by serendipity. He pulls her even closer by her waist with one hand and she wraps her arms around his neck. They kiss, not like most under the mistletoe kisses—quick and awkward. They both think of their exceed-my-expectations game from back when they were decorating the Christmas tree and go for it. The kiss lasts until they run out of breath. And just when they’re staring into each other's eyes, planning on resuming from where they left off, the lyrics of the song that's currently playing make Zoë burst into laughter. It takes Senne a few seconds to understand, and then he’s laughing too.

She grimaces. “This song... so unworthy of a kiss like that one.” 

He kisses the corner of her mouth. “There will be plenty more songs and kisses tonight. We're just getting started.” 

Senne has her hand above his shoulder, and he holds it as they walk into the living room. She skips that song when they pass by her laptop.

“What have we been listening to the whole time, though?” He asks.

“My _Top Songs of 2020_ playlist. It’s on shuffle and I have no idea what this one is doing there, it’s so terrible! I forgot to change to something more... _appropriate_.”

“Oh, I see. And how many cheesy songs made the cut this year?” He asks, pointing with his head to the song that is playing, sounding both sarcastic and interested on her answer at the same time.

She glares at him. “How dare you? This isn’t _cheesy_. It’s melancholic, okay? It’s a song from _before_.”

“ _Before_?” He sits on the couch's armrest, fixing his eyes on her.

“Yeah. Before _wij twee_.” She answers, her thumb caressing his cheek. 

“Zoë, this is a fucking sad song.” 

She shrugs, looking away. “Number 1 is better.”

“Is it an _after wij twee_ song?” He asks, hopeful. Zoë is standing in between his legs, hands on his shoulders. She chews on her bottom lip for a few seconds, pondering. “ _Technically,_ no.”

“No?”

She shakes her head, smiling as if she's keeping a secret from him. “How about your playlist? We could listen to that.” 

“You think my music taste is awful.”

“ _Because!_ ”

“Okay, _Miss Casanova_. Is Casanova on your Top 100, by the way?”

“Unfortunately not. I couldn’t listen to it to cheer me up because it reminded me of _you_ and then I’d be crying all over again instead.”

“Damn, sorry for that.” He says, only half jokingly.

“It’s okay. Since I can listen to it again, you’re forgiven.”

She hears the first notes to the following song and it makes her smile broadly. “Ah!!! This is is top 1!” She quickly goes to her laptop to turn up the volume. When she turns back, there he is, offering her his hand.

“Wanna dance?”

She takes it.

And the song is also melancholic, but it’s perfect for slow dancing. The Christmas lights filling their faces and the room with colors. Senne's hand in the small of Zoë's back, the other one holding hers. They sway along with the music for a couple of minutes in a rhythm of their own. He’s planting delicate kisses along her cheeks. She feels almost lightheaded, but in a good way. She loves dancing with him and tonight, to this song, it’s even more meaningful. 

“It’s a pretty nice song.” He says in her ear, voice low.

“Okay, maybe you’d be interested in knowing this. I said it technically isn't an _after_ song, but I first listened to it the day I messaged you that video of Milan.”

“You mean that day you asked me for a video of _my_ toned body?”

She winces, laughing. “Sorry, but... I think you’re completely mistaken. I’d never do that.”

“100% sure.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. No one else calls me Seppe.” 

“ _Anyway_... this song gave me the courage I needed to message you.”

“I think I owe my life to this song, then.”

The next song is Last Christmas by Wham! and Zoë covers Senne's mouth with her hand so he won’t make fun of her, but they end up dancing to that one too. He twirls her around the room until they're both falling back in the couch, laughing and dizzy and breathless.

**18:33**

They set the coffee table for dinner, Christmassy tablecloth and all. Zoë lit some candles while Senne brought their glasses and plates. They're sitting on floor cushions, drinking some punch, waiting for their dinner to bake.

“We should reveal the movies we chose!” Zoë says, excitedly. 

They had thought of it last week. Each of them would choose two Christmas movies to watch together on Christmas Eve.

“Okay, you go first.” Senne replies.

“Why me? _Fine_ , I chose The Nightmare Before Christmas or as I learned when I was younger: _L'Étrange Noël de monsieur Jack_.”

“Never seen this one. I chose Gremlins.”

“Never seen it, either. But it seems like they'd make an interesting double feature? Both being Christmassy-Halloweeny films?”

“You're right. One thing: we shouldn't watch Gremlins while eating. That's something I'd recommend.”

“Noted. Next one for me is: Home Alone 2.” 

“I was going to choose Home Alone but thought it would be _too cliché_ for your taste.” He says, poking her dimple. She chuckles. 

“Well, I chose Home Alone 2 trusting you were gonna choose Home Alone.”

“Die Hard is my second one.”

“What? Seriously? Isn't that an action movie?”

He nods.

“It's a great Christmas movie as well.”

Zoë raises an eyebrow. _“Sure.”_

“Have you ever watched it?”

She scoffs and shakes her head no.

“You'll see I'm right. So... No romance movies on Christmas?”

“I find The Nightmare Before Christmas _kinda_ romantic, but yeah... no. Why?”

“Why not?”

“If you wanted one you could have chosen it, then. Ah, I know why you're suddenly so interested in them. It's because we always make out during romance movies. Now imagine a romantic _Christmas_ movie...”

“Bullshit.”

“Am I lying? You must secretly hate them, and...”

“That's just not true. What happens is that when I watch them, I think of real life romance, which only makes me think of you. And when I watch them with you... yeah, I prefer you over all of them.”

“That's an _awfully good_ answer.” She narrows her eyes, clearly fighting a smile from appearing.

Unlike her, he smiles proudly. “Isn't it?”

She holds his chin and pecks him on the lips.

“Why The Nightmare Before Christmas? I think you've mentioned this one to me before.”

“Probably. It's one of my favorites. Let's say I could relate a lot to the main character—Jack Skellington. And my parents were delighted that I liked it, because Jack had to settle for Halloween, just like they wanted me to. They'd let me have Halloween. But I always loved the way Jack tried—in his own messy way—to be part of Christmas. I sound so ridiculous but yeah, I was a big fan. I even owned a physical copy back in the day. It's gone to Oslo like a lot of my stuff and my parents never sent it back to me. I guess they never really believed I would stay here.”

“Have they called?”

“What, today you mean? Nope. I didn't expect them to, either. Yours?”

“Nah.”

Oddly enough, Zoë's phone buzzes at that very second. It's Milan, and she instantly accepts his videocall.

“Hey, love birds! How's everything?”

“Great, how about you?”

“Oh, you know. Christmas dinner with the family. Both insufferable and delightful. This year all the nasty relatives aren't attending, so there's that. One of the very few things the pandemic caused that isn't completely despicable. Probably the only one. And now that I said it, it sounds wrong, so not even that. Forget it, let's talk about something more cheerful, shall we? Zoë, show me your outfit! I can't see it well in this awful lighting. Stand up! Come on, darling, I don't have the whole night.” 

Zoë only stands up when Senne takes ahold of her phone so Milan can have a better look. She feels a bit sheepish with all the attention.

“Whoa, beauty queen?! Looking dashing. I told you this dress would be a perfect fit for you. You don’t look bad yourself, Senne.”

“Stop, he looks very handsome, okay?”

“Do I?” 

“Uh... yeah?!” She says, raising an eyebrow.

“You hadn't said anything til now.”

“I thought it was implicit.”

“Thank you, Milan. If it wasn't for you, I would never hear it.”

“And now he's modest, how cute. You know very well we think you're a dreamboat, who are you trying to fool?”

“O-kay, enough with complimenting my boyfriend's looks. Have you spoken to Lisa today? She’s not answering to any of my messages.”

“No, not today. I think being back with her family is doing her good, you know how it's been tough for her, being away from them through these awful times. Being away from us is a piece of cake compared to that.”

There’s a pause, a tiny awkward moment of silence.

Everyone is back with their families while Zoë and Senne... What they notice at the same time is that they didn't know what it was like to have a family gathered together on days like this, not in a long time, if ever. And that they definitely don't miss being somewhere where they aren't missed. It doesn't even make them sad, especially not this Christmas.

**19:05**

It took a bit longer than Zoë had predicted for her lentil and spinach roulade to bake. They had been watching Home Alone and she went to check if it had finally cooled down enough for them to eat it.

“We could be having Mac and Cheese heated in the microwave if you weren’t vegan. _Christmas à la Kevin McCallister._ ” Senne spoke from the living room.

“That sounds _so_ tempting! Maybe I should just give up on cooking and veganism altogether next time.” Zoë shouted back.

“But for now, can you help me with this?” He nods, making room for her to place it at the table. 

“Voilà,” she says with a flourish of her hand.

For some reason, Senne's mouth wouldn't stop watering since he laid eyes on the roulade. Zoë noticed and it made her snort with laughter. 

“You're a vegan at heart, just accept it already.” She jokes, just to make fun of him.

“I'm a sympathizer, that's all.”

**19:32**

Zoë tells Senne to close his eyes before she brings the chocolate cookies to the table. He does.“Now open your mouth.” He continues to do as she says. She grabs a cookie and puts it in his mouth.

“Is it good?” She asks, barely waiting for him to chew.

It takes him a few seconds to speak.

“Much better than good? What else is in it? I know they're like my favorites but there's something extra in them, and it's...”

“You can open your eyes now.” She informs, laughing. “I apologize for breaking tradition but I couldn’t wait until the morning to give my first present to you. This is it. Created by me. I call it Seppe’s.”

The chocolate cookies are heart shaped and Zoë drew the letter S on top of each of them with icing. She shrugs, suddenly feeling like maybe she exaggerated. 

He’s grinning and frowning at the same time. 

“I’m kidding. It’s called Senne’s.”

“The cookies?”

He looks at her and she doesn't know what to make of his expression. Is he surprised, shocked? Is he thinking this is too much?

“ _Yes_. As you guessed, it’s a mix of the recipe you love with some new special secret ingredients.”

“You created a new chocolate cookie as a Christmas present _for me_?”

“I mean, I don’t even know if it’s an original recipe, I searched and couldn’t find it online, though... So, maybe. I just... I know you can buy everything you want, and creating stuff is my way of giving you something special, you know? Something unique.”

He moves from where he's sitting just to kiss her. And his kiss makes her forget all about her worries from before. “Guess I have a new favorite cookie flavor. Thank you for this—for everything.” 

She smiles shyly and shakes her head. “It's no big deal.“

“But _it is_. It really is. And now I think it's only fair that I give you an early present, too. Actually, if you think about it, this one is a year late. You got the book I ordered last year, right?”

She nods. “Yes, I told you. It's wonderful.”

“There was another present I meant to give you but couldn't, so I kept it.”

She's biting the skin of her thumb, anxiously. He takes the box from his pocket. Now she's panicking. When he opens it, her eyes widen.

“I could only think of you wearing it when I saw it. And you're right, I'm allowed to have a lot of things that money can buy, but what did it matter when I've had this for so long in my pocket and couldn't give it to you, couldn't be with you. It's worthless without you.”

“Senne—”

“Give me your hand, please?”

He places the ring on her index finger. Zoë stares at that red heart shaped stone, trying not to tear up.

“It's so beautiful. I love it.”

“So you'll accept it?”

“What, _the ring_?” She asks.

“Yeah, _the ring_. Hey, I'm not asking you to marry me. Not yet.”

She exhales, smiling.

“Yes, I accept the ring. How could I not?”

**19:59**

Zoë's head is on Senne's shoulder, they're still eating cookies while watching the ending of Home Alone, blanket in their laps. 

“This is the best Christmas ever.” She says when the movie credits start rolling.

“Really?” He asks, looking at her as if that surprises him.

“Uh-huh. No other could compare to this.”

“Not even last Christmas?” He asks.

“What do you mean _“not even last Christmas?”_? I was miserable last Christmas. Much worse than Kevin in Home Alone.”

“How so?”

“For starters, I spent Christmas Eve and most of Christmas day in this couch, all by myself. And no one arrived in the end to check on me.”

“But...”

“Lisa hadn't returned yet and the boys had gone home. One for good and the other for the holidays.”

“And you stayed.”

“I stayed.” 

“Didn’t anyone... invite you over?” He asks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Milan invited me to go to the Netherlands with him, can you imagine? Jana invited me too, but I wasn’t in the mood... I started watching The Nightmare Before Christmas because... as I said earlier it has been like my Christmas comfort movie for so long and this time around it made me cry so hard instead of comforting me. I don't know why. I felt... jealous of Jack and Sally.” She smiles bitterly, shaking her head as if wanting to get rid of that embarrassing memory. “I wondered where you could be. I wanted to call you. I was hurting all over, like, actual _physical_ pain. I'm serious. I couldn’t sleep in that bed, I couldn’t stand entering that bedroom. So I cried myself to sleep wrapped up in our blanket in this very couch. The end. You?”

He kissed her forehead, his fingertips massaging her scalp.

“Passed out drunk at Max’s. He was throwing his first Christmas party ever, a Christmas party without his parents' supervision, that is. It _sucked_ , at least for me it did. At a certain point I locked myself into the TV room. The Grinch was airing, I didn't have enough strength to find the remote to turn that damn TV off, so I sat and watched it while drinking, I don't even remember what I drank. I felt exactly like he did for most of the movie. Detesting everyone that was having a good time... it felt like nothing would be right ever again. Sorry but I really did hate Christmas last Christmas.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, if only I could have said yes to your Secret Santa.”

Senne narrows his eyes, tracing her jaw with his thumb. “You wouldn’t have dumped me if I had said yes to that damn secret Santa, would you?”

She laughs, hiding her face in his chest. “Don’t ask me that, I’m afraid to think about my 2019 answer.” She jokes, her arms around him.

**1:43**

“You're about to fall asleep.”

“What? No.”

“You are.”

“How long until this is over?”

“1 hour and 41 minutes.”

“What? How? It's been so long. And it's _so_ boring.”

“The movie is 2 hours and 12 minutes long.”

”The Nightmare Before Christmas is 1 hour and 19 minutes long.”

”And? I would have liked it even if it was 2 hours long. Come on Zoë, you often make me watch movies that are almost 3 hours long, don’t give me that.”

“I know, but... I really liked Gremlins and you ended up choosing 3 movies. Can’t we just say we watched your two choices already?”

 _“No_ , because Home Alone ended up being a mutual choice. We decided to add it in the last minute. I promise Die Hard isn't boring, give it a chance.”

“Alan Rickman is great in it but that’s all, so far.”

She is kissing his jaw. They're lying on the couch, her left leg entangled in his. 

“I’m gonna pause the movie.”

“No. Please, there’s no need. I promise I’ll pay attention to it in a second.” 

**3:03**

Zoë’s asleep when Senne lifts her up and carries her to bed, there’s no way he’s gonna let her spend another Christmas night sleeping in that couch.

He tucks her in and brushes away the hair from her face, softly kissing her forehead. Without opening her eyes, she curls up her fingers around his arm, getting closer to him. “Merry Christmas, Senne.” She mumbles, and falls back into sleep. 

**25 December 2020**

**Vrijdag, 8:00**

The alarm on Senne’s phone wakes her up at 8.

Zoë feels confused. Still sleepy, she waits for him to turn the alarm off, and then she notices the tray placed on his side of the bed.

There, the breakfast he prepares whenever he feels like paying his "debt" to her, thanks to his sleepover promise. Oatmeal with raspberries and chia seeds. She closes her eyes and smiles, pressing her face to her pillow. It feels like a dream. Where's he? She won’t be having breakfast by herself, she has to find him first.

Zoë leaves the bedroom to search for Senne and on her way to the kitchen she almost steps in a box. She had seen it under the tree, that white box with a turquoise satin ribbon. There's a tag under the ribbon with _Zoë's Essentials Box_ written on it. She unties the ribbon and opens it. Inside, there's a poetry book, a (new) tube of her favorite lipstick, half a dozen packets of flower seeds and an icy blue Instax Camera. She beams looking through all those presents.

She finally gets to the kitchen and can barely believe it when she finds him there, playing chef de cuisine, wearing her apron and everything.

It looks surprisingly good on him.

“Why does this look good on you? It’s not fair.”

He looks back at her, smiling. “Oh! I see you found almost everything.”

“ _Almost?_ There's _more_?”

“I'm making hot cocoa with almond and coconut milk.”

She hugs him from behind, kissing his cheek and resting her chin on his shoulder. “Wow, now I'm worried about losing my spot as best cook in this house. Have you slept?”

“I did, yeah.”

Two hours, maximum. He was too excited to be able to really sleep. He had been planning it all for weeks, or maybe it had been in the back of his mind for a year now.

“I also have presents for you! I thought we would exchange them later, they’re still under the tree, unlike yours... Why did you just break tradition and—”

“Speaking of breaking tradition, can you please go back to bed? I can't focus with your arms around me. And... breakfast in bed is meant to be eaten _in bed_ , specifically. I’ll be right there in two minutes, if that youtuber chef is correct.” 

She holds out her hands. “Fine! I’m going.” Zoë says, collecting the box of presents she had left at the counter.

She steps into the living room to take his presents with her as well. 

Senne comes back with a much bigger tray in hands. Zoë looks awestruck, which was the exact reaction he expected from her.

“What? Did you think my Christmas breakfast would be just the regular sleepover breakfast? Zoë Loockx, you underestimate me.”

She's completely speechless. All she wants to do in this moment is kiss him. 

He places the tray in front of her on the bed. There's a single white rose decorating it, a bowl of strawberries, apple pie, cinnamon tea and hot cocoa. “Merry Christmas, Zoë.” He says, passing her the mug. Another present. A red mug with _This Girl Loves Christmas_ written on it.

She pulls him closer by his neck. “ _The merriest_.” She manages to say between kisses.

His lips curve into a smile.

“Okay, now it's time for your presents! I also saved the one I made you last year, it’s not very useful but it’s... well. It’s a scrapbook. There are pictures of us and I wrote about the way I felt before we got together. And after. A bunch of things I never told you. I speak a lot, _you know that_ , but sometimes is easier to write it down. And you can keep it, my thoughts and feelings in written form... I mean, if you want them, I know it's not a very goo—”

“Are you kidding?”

Senne opens it and starts flipping through the pages very carefully. There's so much to look at. So many details in every corner every page. Doodles, prints, notes, a scanned version of her Ferris wheel ticket, things they said to each other—he recognizes the words. The first picture they took together. He reads the quote that opens the scrapbook and feels like he could keep rereading it over and over.

_“Everyone has a place to return to, even if it’s only in their minds. A safe, beautiful, happy place. Everyone has that place, and you’re mine.”_

He can’t even hear what she just said to him, he’s just so enthralled by her present, her written words.

“ _Oy!_ I’m talking to you. Choose a hand.”

He smirks, coming back down to earth. “Let me guess... the right one?”

“How did you know?!”

She opens and places a pouch bag in his hand. There were two personalized guitar picks inside. One engraved with his name, the other with a Spotify scannable code to a playlist Zoë had made for him. 

“Did you notice it's engraved in my own handwriting? I should have chosen _I pick you over anyone_ or _I'll always pick you_ instead of _Senne_ since you already have the capo with your name engraved on it, my bad.” She says in a sarcastic way, but she really considered those options. “I also thought of buying you a bunch of hair products so you’d have reasons to let it grow back.” She pouts, looking at his buzz cut. It took her _weeks_ to get used to the frustrating sensation of not being able to grab and pull his hair while kissing him, to not run her fingers through it whenever she felt like it. She’s now used to it and even likes it most of the time, but she won’t tell him that. (He already knows it.) “Also, have I told you I won’t complain about the amount of time you spend styling it, like, ever again?”

He scoffs. “It’s gonna grow back.” He scans the code to listen to the playlist. He loves how personal all the gifts she's given him are. It makes him want to follow her steps. He tried, he'll try even harder next time. “I love it, I’m serious. All of them.” He says.

Zoë smiles, a bit proud that he seems to have liked her presents as much as she liked his.

“By the way, your obsession with my hair reminded me that your last present is still missing.” He adds, reaching for his backpack.

“No! _Another one_? This way I can't compete!” She complains.

From there he takes a red hat, a _Santa hat_. “I couldn’t find the 2018 one, however...” He puts the hat on, giving her a charming smile.

She covers her mouth with both hands but he can still see her wide grin. It’s in her eyes too. “ _Oh my god, it’s Santa!_ A very young and hot version of him, but _it’s him_!”

“Don’t say it’s your favorite out of all the presents.”

“Ok, then I won’t say it.” She presses her lips together, pretending she's trying to refrain herself from saying it.

“The hot cocoa will freeze.”

“I don’t mind.” 

“But I do, it took me lots of tries to get it right.”

“Okay, okay, I’m drinking it!”

“And?”

“Yum. Delicious.”

“Are you really talking about the hot cocoa or...”

She laughs and shrugs. A minute passes and she's changed her expression to a serious one. “I need to tell you something.”

“Okay.”

She clears her throat. “I think...” She pauses. “I'm afraid that this might be a problem for us because... I think I have a crush on Santa.” She finishes, looking lovingly at his hat. 

“You can’t tell this to anyone—top secret info—but I know for a fact that Santa has a crush on you, too.”

She grins and kisses him again, holding his face in her hands.

“Can I use my new camera to take a picture of Santa? Please?!” She pleads, lashes fluttering.

He nods, happily.

**08:25**

“What do you want to do now? You missed the ending of Die Hard, or more like _a big part_ of it. I think it’s important that you watch the whole movie before jumping to the wrong conclusion, also known as: that it's a boring movie.”

“Yeah... okay.” She offers him a bite from the last strawberry of the bowl. He accepts it. “Either that or Christmas morning sex.” She half shrugs, like either option is gonna have the same appeal to him.

She looks at him and the face he makes is priceless.

“ _Christmas morning sex?_ ”

“I mean, it probably isn’t _tradition, but—_ ” She laughs, licking her fingers that are covered in strawberry juice.

He looks at her, mischievous smile appearing on his face.

“Then we’ll make it our tradition. Deal?” He asks, leaning his body into Zoë’s.

“Deal.” She replies, covering his lips with hers.

**Author's Note:**

> • Thanks to Mr. Jack Skellington for helping me name this fic. Eureka, Jack! This year (and by that I mean last year)  
> Christmas was ours, indeed. (Or theirs, it was definitely their Christmas, yes!)
> 
> •I've been talking about Zoenne spending Christmas together since 2018. If you ever spoke to me and we talked about them, there's a 90% chance I babbled about Christmas at some point, so... It finally happened. In a happy, non au way (I mean, I can finally imagine this as freaking canon!!!) and I hope you felt as close to them and their happiness as I felt while writing it.
> 
> •By the way, I wrote this fic using elements from my 2019 Christmas AU fic. It’s as if they had spent their previous Christmas doing the things they had done together in the AU, except they did it separately in ~reality. (And their ~real Christmas in 2019 sucked much more because of that.)
> 
> • Zoë's dress: https://imgur.com/3rdJ8Q4
> 
> •There are a lot of movie references here, maybe too much? Sorry fellow kids, but if you haven't watched Christmas movies from the 80's/90's what are you doing with your life? (Don't answer.)
> 
> •Thank you Avril Lavigne for the summary! (I h♡te writing summaries, I just want you to read the fic without any spoilers. It’s the best way to do it.)
> 
> • Senne, Die Hard is kinda boring, sorry.
> 
> • If you like this fic, please let me know. I'd love to chat about your favorite parts. Or just tell me this isn't tr@sh, I'm late on posting it because I'm living a love/hate relationship with it atm. I tried to do them justice and it annoys me to no end when I end up feeling frustrated instead of pleased with the final result.
> 
> • I was going to say happy holidays and now, since I’m a freaking week late... I wish you all a decent, healthy, peaceful, productive 2021!
> 
> Much love,
> 
> Ana


End file.
